Burglar protection



March 6, 1926. 1,661,752

I H; FRANK j BURGLAR PROTECTI ON Filed Nov. 10. 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet 1March 6, 1928.

H. FRANK BURGLAR PROTECTION Filed NOV. 10, 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 1N VE/V7 OR. Harry Frank A T RNEYS.

March 6, 1928. I H. FRANK BURGLAR PROTECTI 0N Filed Nov. 10. 19 26 3Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR.

A ORNLYS.

I gy/ fang D are installed.

Patented Mar. 6, 1928. i

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

. HARRY FRANK, OI BROOKLYN ,NEW YORK.

, BURGLAR rno'rnomroiv.

Application filed Koveinber 10, 1926. Serialiilo. 147,451.

with the customers and suddenly stage a hold up either of a customer orof one or more of the employees of the establishment. It is not uncommonin business establishmerits which handle large sums of money orquantities of jewelry, or other valuables to hire watchmen or specialofficers who are stationed on the floor of the establishment as aprotection against robbery, but, in numerous instances in the past,prospective hold up men have shot or intimidated the special officers asan initial step in the operation of effecting a robbery.

The object of the present inventionis to provide simple and thoroughlyefiicient means whereby a special oflicer maybe stationed in a positionwhich will render him immune to attack and will enable him,nevertheless, to command a full view of the establishment whereby he isable tov attack the prospective hold up man, in the event of anemergency, from a place of security.

Devices have heretofore been suggested to provide a place of securityfor a special oiiicer, but such structures with the exception of theconstruction disclosed in my prior Patent No. 1,567,728, issuedDecemberBO,

1925, have been built into and form a part J of the furniture orfixtures of the bank or other business establishment in which they Theyare highly expensive to to install and, in the majority of cases,provide relatively little protection. The construction of the presentinvention, in contradistinction, is adapted to be built as a completeunit and transported to and set up in the establishment withoutnecessitating permanent attachment thereto. The device may be moved fromone position to another in the establishment as may be desirable andconstitutes an improvement upon the construction of my prior patent.

The present invent-ion is more particularly directed to structuralfeatures, among which may be mentioned novel and efficient means forproperly ventilating the enclosure in which the special officer isadapted tobe stationed. This enclosureis of bullet proof material andunlessit is properly ventilated the person housed therein will be'subjected fining the limits of the invention.

to considerable discomfort. The present invention provides for athoroughventilation of the enclosure.

Another feature of the invention consists in the employment of a novelandefiicient loop hole construction adapted to normally occupy a closedposition, but so. constituted that it may be readily opened to permitthe barrel 01": a weapon to be thrust therethrough for the, purpose offiring upon intruders. The loop hole construction issuch that it cannotbe manipulated from the exterior of the enclosure, but may be manuallyoperated with ease from the interior thereof. It automatically operatesto "provide no greater opening than is necessary to permit the bar- I arel of a gun or pistol to protrude therethrough and upon the withdrawalof the Weapon it automatically closes.

The enclosure is also provided with bullet proof sight openings whichare glazed with bullet proof glass, so that the occupant can readilyseewhat is transpiring exteriorly of i the closure without necessitatingthe opening of windows, the doors or other openings through which tearbombs or similar articles of attack might be projected into theenclosure.

The construction ofthe' device of this invention is simple, economicaland thoroughly eflicient for the carrying out oi its intended purposesand const tutes a marked improve menton everything that has gone before.

Features of theinvention, othe'r'than those adverted to,will be apparentfrom the hereinafter detailed description and i claims,

when read in conjunction with the accoInpanying drawings.

The accompanying drawings illustrate one practical embodiment or theinvention, but the'construction therein shown is to. be understood asillustrative, only, and not as de- Figure l is a perspective view ofvice of this invention. 7 V

Figure 2 is a vertical' section through the enclosure on the line 2+2 ofFigure 1.

Figure 3' isan enlarged detail section illustrating a'portion of theconstruction which permits or proper ventilation.

the de- Figure 4; is a tragmental elevation of the andvwindowconstruction. v i

{Figure 5 is asection on the line of Figure 4:.

Figure 6 is a section on the line 6-6 of Figure 4; and,

Figure 7 is a section on the line 77 of Figure 2.

Referring to the drawings, 1 designates the enclosure which, as shown inFigure 1, is preferably mounted upon a suitable tower or other supports2 which may be of any desired height, so that the enclosure may besupported at any elevation above the floor as the construction of thebusiness establishmentor other circumstances may require. It is withinthe purview of this invention to support the enclosure at a relativelyhigh elevation and out of the reach of persons on the floor, althoughsaid enclosure may also be mounted substantially at the floor level,without departing from the invention. In practice, however, the mountingof the closure at a high elevationis preferred.

The enclosure is provided with four walls 3, 4, and 6, a floor 7, and asuitable roof 8, the latter of which is shown as sloping although it maybe made flat or otherwise without departing from the invention. The sidewalls, the roof and the floor are constructed of bullet proof steelmounted upon a suitable framework 9 which serves to reinforce theenclosure and lend stability and rigidity thereto.

Access may be had to the enclosure through a doorway l0, normally closedby a door 11 preferably mounted to slide on a track 12 positionedinteriorly of the enclosure. The door is provided with a lock 13 wherebyit may be locked from either the inside or the outside.

Positioned at suitable and convenient placesin the side walls of theenclosure are openings 14 sufficiently large to permit a pistol or gunbarrel to be thrust there through. Any number of these holes may beprovided and they may be positioned in any desired places in any one ormore of the side walls. In Figure 1, no such opening is shown in thewall 3, since in the particular construction shown the wall 3 isintended to be positioned relatively close to one of the walls of theroom in which the enclosure is to be installed and there would be noadvantage in having a hole in the wall 3 in such an arrangement.However, I do not limit myself in this regard but wish it understoodthat these holes'l l may be provided in any desired position and in anydesired number.

Interiorly of each hole and juxtaposed therewith is a slide 15'mountedto reciprocate between guides 16. As shown in Figure 4, the slide has animperforate part adapted to normally close the associated opening 14.-and also is provided with an opening 14 of substantially the same sizeand shape of the opening 14. An operating handle 17 is secured to theslide and operates in a guide 18 and a spring 19 is positioned betweenthe slide and the guide 18 to normally force the slide into a closedposition. In order to permit a gun barrel to be projected through the.opening 14, it is only necessary for a person within the enclosure towithdraw the slide against the tension of the spring 19 until the holesLl and bl" register. This operation is facilitated by providing a fingergrip 20 adjacent to the handle 1?,- so that the fingers may be engagedwith the grip 20 while the thumb is utilized to move the slide asstated. After the openings have been moved into registration, a pistolbarrel may be thrust through the opening and the slide may then bereleased, so as to partially close against the gun barrel to leave thesmallest possible opening. By virtue of the spring pressure however, the

gun may be swung into different angular degrees with reference to theside wall of the enclosure and may be properly aimed. lVhen the gun iswithdrawn the spring will force the slide into closed position.

The loop hole construction which I have described is unusually simple.It is econom- -ical to manufacture and is thoroughly eiiicient in use.It is a marked contrast to the complicated loop hole constructions ofthe prior art. It can not be inadvertently left open and is automaticallclosed after use.

In order to permit tile occupant of the enclosure to keep watch onactivities exterior thereof, I preferably provide over each loop hole awindow 21. This window is hinged at 22 at the inside of the enclosureand it is normally locked shut by a spring lock 23. It is glazed withbullet proof glass 52%, so held in position as shown in Figure 5, thatthe glass can not be removed from the exterior of the enclosure. Thewindows may be opened if desired for any purpose, but when closedwillautomatically be locked in closed position by the spring lock 23.

Some light will be admitted into the enclosure through the openings towhich I have referred, butinasmuch as this light will necessarily belimited, I preferably provide a skylight 52-5 in the roof of theenclosure. This skylight embodies a plate of bullet proof glass 26 heldin place by angles 27 secured to-the roof, as shown in Figure 2. Amplelight is admitted through this skylight to permit the occupant of theenclosure to properly function therein.

In a relatively tight enclosure of the character to which I hatereferred, the question of ventilation is an important one, particularlyin summer when the heat within the enclosure may be uncomfortable to theoccupant. To permit of proper ventilation, I provide each of the sidewalls 4 and 5 directly beneath the eaves of the roof with longitudinalslots 28 which preferably extend the full width of each side wall anddirectly within the enclosure I mount on the roof angle baffles 29, asshown in Figure 2 and detailed in Figure 3. These angle bafiies are soshaped, that they will preclude the passage of a bullet through theopening slots covered by baflles 30 which preferably incline in anupward direction, as shown in Fig. 2, so that if a bullet is fired in anupward direction against these baflies, it will be deflected and willnot enter the enclosure. When the enclosure is built for use in anelevated position, the bafiies 30 are as shown in Figure 2, but if it isconstructed for use at or adjacent the floor of a businessestablishment, the bafiles are preferably inclined in a downwarddirection so that bullets fired in the latter direction will not enterthe openings between the baffles.

Considerable air may circulate through the openingswith which thebaflies 30 are associated. In order to provide more circulation thefloor 7 may be provided with one or more mushroom ventilators 31 whichwill permit the circulation of air in the enclosure while precluding thepassage of bolts into the interior of the enclosure.

Experience has shown that when an enclosure is provided with theventilating means to which I have referred, adequate ventilation isprovided if the enclosure is adapted for use directly above the floor ofa building, the mushroom ventilators are of course omitted, but in allcases where the enclosure is placed above the floor these ventilatorsare preferably employed.

It will of course be understood that in practice the interior is fittedfor the convenience and comfort of the occupant and a telephoneconnection thereto may be provided, so that in the event of an emergencythe occupant can summon police aid. I have not shown these details inthe drawings as their use in this connection will be apparent.

Having thus fully described the invention,

what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An assembly of the character described embodying an enclosure havingbullet proof walls provided withopenings through which a weapon may beprojected, a slide mounted forsliding movement on the interior of theenclosure adjacent each opening and provided with an opening adapted tobe moved into registration with the opening of the enclosure, automaticmeans for normally moving the slide into a position wherein the openingsof the enclosure and slide are out of registration, and" a transparentbullet proof window positioned above each opening of the enclosurewhereby the persons to be fired upon may be observed without ex posingthe occupant of the enclosure to attack.

2. .An assembly of the character described i I embodying an enclosurehaving walls of bullet proof material and at. least one of which wallsis provided with an opening through which the barrel of a weapon may beprojected, a slide positioned interiorly of said wall and also providedwith an opening, automatic means for impelling the slide into a positionwherein the openings are outof registration, means for retracting theslide to move the openings into registration, and a transparent bulletproof window positioned adjacent the opening and through which apersonpositioned within the opening can observe persons to be fired uponwithout exposing the person. within the enclosure to attack.

.3. An assembly of the character described embodying an enclosure havingWalls of bullet proof material and at least one of which walls isprovided with an opening through which the barrel of a weapon may beprojected, a slide positioned interiorly of said wall and also providedwith an opening, automatic means for impelling the slide into a positionwherein the openings are out of registration, means for retracting theslide to move the openings into registration a transparent bullet proofwindow positioned adjacent the opening and through which a personpositioned within the opening can observe persons to be fired uponwithout exposing the person within the enclosure to attack, and meansfor locking the window from the interior of the enclosure to precludeunlocking of the window from the exterior thereof.

In testimony whereof I have signed the foregoing specification.

HARRY FRANK.

